You will need to have access to the SOLIDWORKS software for most of the chapters. Some chapters will also require you to have access to Microsoft Excel on the same machine.
You should practically follow all the steps and examples in this book in SOLIDWORKS as you are reading the book. This is because the book was designed to give you hands-on practical experience.
There are no prerequisite knowledge or skills required to follow this book. However, having a basic, theoretical understanding of what 3D modeling is would be helpful.